Photo of the day - "Another busy morning"

Another busy morning

The drive on NICE road, Bangalore early in the morning will be an enjoyable one. With the recent findings of small outing places around Bannerghatta area, there have been regular drives on this road.

Photo of the day - "Priceless"

A small tomato, plucked from a farm in the outskirts of Bangalore

It is strange, isn't it, how small things like this suddenly make their presence and value felt. Recently with the food inflation going high, everyone has been talking about the vegetables and prices. Probably only during this time, most of us realize, what all vegetables mom brings home. The other day in one of the hotels or some other place, I heard a person shouting on someone who dropped a small bag of vegetables."Do you know the price of this?" In a way I feel it is better, once in a while such a thing should happen where everyone starts valuing smallest and cheapest of the things. It can also be a campaign for food saving. ;-) 

Photo of the day - "Come to Me.."

Come to me, and I will give you rest!

Some people say they get peace of mind; some say, they get their wishes fulfilled; some say, they get their problems solved;  few say they can come out of their "insecure feeling" zone; everyone has their own reasons to go to the doors of almighty and pray. It looks terribly strange to the atheists, for sitting and praying and believing in something that doesn't exist.

Do you believe in God? Have you faced a situation where, you felt there was no way out and the only way was to pray? Do miracles happen all by themselves or they are the results of intense prayers? There will be a question bank around this matter but answers can only be mere speculations. End of the day, I believe, it is up to the individuals, and it should be respected by each other.

Photo of the day - Simplicity

No noble thoughts attached with the photo of the day! If you have anything please comment.

Photo of the day - Latest Addiction

Grey Heron sits on a small rock in the Manchinbele reservoir, near Bengaluru

Bird watching and bird photography has been my latest addiction. I have never got up early in the morning to attend the classes during my college days, but there is a very little struggle nowadays getting up early that too on weekends for the most exciting thing of bird watching. I didn't know that there are more than 300 species of birds sighted in and around Bengaluru. I've been exploring a lot of places for birding. It has been going good. 

Watch out bangalorecaptured.com for all the birding places in and around Bengaluru. 

Photo of the day - "The Waiting"

A girl standing at the edge of a water fall seemed like waiting for someone

The hell broke loose; the surrounding turned turbulent; standing on the edge of the death; the wait seemed never ending, for her.

Waiting is always an exciting thing when it comes to waiting for a special occasion; or waiting for your dream job or dream home or some materialistic attraction. Waiting can keep one on the other extreme too. When one waits for something (or someone) that never seems to come back, the waiting puts a lot of anxiety in the person. Knowing the fact that a thing will never get back to you, have you ever waited? How long can a person wait for such a thing? Is there a threshold? Doesn't life take you along and eventually break the connection between you and the wait and set you free?

If you see, we always wait more desperately or eagerly for something which we lost during the course of life than for something which we never owned(but have a wish to own)! If we weigh the importance of something which we desired to have, it is weighed more only before receiving it and/or after losing it.

Photo of the day - "I am not a philosopher"

Today for a change I am posting one of the photographs that my friend Lawrence shot. All the credit for this wonderful photograph should go to him. I personally liked the pic a lot :-)

While I am posting photographs and writing few thoughts around them, few people have started thinking that I have become a philosopher. Nope. I am not a philosopher and I don't deserve to be one. I have just lived a small part of my life so far, so I can think and write only from the perspective of the stage of life I am in right now. I am yet to see more of life, yet to gain a lot experience, yet to learn a lot from others. 

Looking forward for more of life  (Photo Courtesy: Lawrence Mesquita)

I am trying to relate few thoughts with the photographs. The photographs are really not taken with any thoughts associated with them. The thoughts are attached to the photographs after they were clicked. When I looked into my archives, I found the photos are dead without any story associated with them. So I started  putting together the photos and the thoughts. I am also glad to hear that a lot of people have liked the way this blog is going. Thanks people! Your encouragement will keep me clicking more and let the thoughts around them flow.

btw, my friend has given me an image which makes my Travel Blog look perfect now where the title, caption, image and the content, all of them fit together the best. Thanks Lawrence!
(http://prashantattrips.blogspot.com/)

Photo of the day - A Couple on a travel

A couple in Udaipur, City Palace, Rajasthan seemed to be looking through some map

Going places and exploring the world is a pure joy. What is life without the travel? I can't imagine. If you have a companion who shares the same interest then the journey would be even more interesting. Some travelers I met and spoke to during my travel all these days, were very inspiring. I spoke to an elderly woman, who had a wish to step in most of the countries on the earth. She made her dream come true by exploring the South African wildlife; SA being the last country in her list. She said she has carried loads of moments from her traveling experience.

I too have a wish to travel as much as possible. Traveling keeps my life going. I hope it continues this way till the end.

Photo of the day - "Fly High"

 Fly High

Set no restrictions to your dreams or desires; let them fly high; at the same time, make no compulsion that all of them have to come true, else it will follow a huge disappointment. The rule is simple. When you can fly high, there is a risk of falling down too. The way we dream of success, we should be prepared to handle the failure too. I know, it is easier said. We are always taught how to set the goals and how to chase them, how to dream, how to set expectation etc. The history gives us tons of examples of such stories. How many of us were taught how to handle failures? I think knowingly or unknowingly this part is left to the individuals. It is strange to see how different people take failures in different ways. People who thought big but were never prepared for the worst, go to the extremes of ending life. On the other hand there have been many real life inspirations around me, where I saw people were strangled by failures again and again yet they came out fighting every time, and now they have made their life big! If you see, handling failure talks a great deal about an individual's strength than becoming successful.

Photo of the day - "Basic Needs"

A father and his son in a hurry to get one of the basic needs, water, in a village nearby Bengaluru

Fortunately few of us don't have to struggle so much for basic needs but still there are people struggling everyday for water, food and shelter. If we can't go and help them, we can at least help ourselves by saving water and food. 

Recently I saw an arrogant youth, in a railway station, pulled the tap off because it was not working and he wanted water desperately. He didn't have the courtesy to put it back. The gush of water was flowing all over the platform. Is it the education that lacks or common sense? Should we open a school for teaching some common sense too?

Photo of the day - "The Road Ahead"

The Road Ahead

What lies ahead, is always a mystery! We can plan tons of things for our future or "The Road Ahead". However the Life has it's own curves and deviations. There will be no other option than going it's way.

Roll back few years of your life and think about what you wanted to become or how you wanted to see yourself in the current stage of life. Weren't you curious and used to imagine how your future would look like?  I used to. Honestly, today I am not what I wanted to become, but I also don't have any regret for it. May be I have just chosen one way of living a life. Take it as it comes. The other way is to spend half the lifetime planning for future. Both have pros and cons, but I like it when it is like a treasure hunt; adventurous and exciting. :)

Photo of the day - Solitude

At the peak of solitude

Recently when I went for a photoshoot in the outskirts of Bangalore, I came across a lady, who was sitting along side the lake; I thought she must be with her boy friend or there must be some family; but I was wrong. She sat there all alone, not with iPod or mobile phone around her ears. She just appeared to have gone out to enjoy being isolated from the materialistic world.

We all live in a world called as "influencing world". What we have done so far or what we decide to do, most of them, are influenced by various things around us like family, friends, or situation etc. Have you ever thought of what you really want? When was the last time you spent time with yourself? Have you ever enjoyed talking to yourself? 

All through life we give so much time to others but a very little for ourselves. Solitude, sometimes can be rejuvenating for the mind and body. It is not loneliness but a self-imposed disconnect from the society. It will unveil the true self. Be a good company to yourself, and go to the peak of solitude to explore the unexplored.

Photo of the day - A Conqueror

A Conqueror 

Never wait for tomorrow to do the things you have always wanted to do. Now is the time. When you have an opportunity, go and conquer those things. Few of the things which always hold us back in pursuing our passions are money, responsibilities, and relationships etc. Deep down the heart if you think about it, none of these are going to get affected but we will still hold ourselves back. One of the quotes from Hitch has always inspired me - "Life is not the amount of breaths you take, it's the moments that take your breath away"

I have had plenty of such moments that took my breath away. On the adventure front, there were quite a few. When I did parasailing for the first time; when I did a rafting in the river Ganges when it was flowing wild; when I jumped off from a good amount of height into the river Ganges; When we finally reached Gomukh after 18kms trek; when I found a Leopard walking just about 30-40 meters away from me when we were walking in the jungle; the list goes on. One of the several things that are in my list is to do a bungee jumping off Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa, the world's third highest bungee jump. What is in your list?? 

Photo of the day - "Go Green"

A Vine Snake hangs on to the stem of a small plant, at Agumbe

Since the time I started taking interest in exploring trekking, wildlife and travelling to green places, the life has a different feeling altogether. I really advise people to explore this part of the world where, surely, one gets the sense of satisfaction from the mother nature. It is a stress buster. 

There are a whole lot of people who love to go to such places however they need to have the common sense of leaving the nature undisturbed as much as possible. I came across several groups who were screaming and playing loud music while we were on safari inside the jungle. If partying is required, such animals have pubs in Bangalore; why bother the wildlife? I see flock of such animals wearing the most disturbing colors in the forests. People drive through the forests, shamelessly honking so loud ignoring the sign boards. The newly installed music player in their vehicle makes a lot of buzz inside the forest. It is such a disturbing thing.  Nowadays, such acts are being penalized by the forest officers, that's a good thing. Somehow this nuisance needs to be stopped.

Please spread a word to Go Green; a word to appreciate the beauty of nature; go out and spend some time in the lap of mother nature.

Photo of the day - Buddha Says

Buddha Says

Quotes are always very inspiring for most of us. Many people get moved and take seriously some quotes said by few of the greats ever. Buddha's quotes are known to be the greatest ones. I used to read the quotes when I was in school; I lost the hobby a long time back.

Buddha says:
"In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true"

"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell"

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned"

"He who loves 50 people has 50 woes; he who loves no one has no woes"

"It is better to travel well than to arrive"

"There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting"

Photo of the day - "Heading back"

A gang of friends head back home after experiencing a beautiful sunset. 

Today, it is really strange to see how people (us) have to struggle to get a glimpse of day to day things like Sunrise and Sunset. Taking my example itself, when I was growing up I never looked, with a special feeling, at the sky, those beautiful colors during the sunrise and sunsets, the lakes, and the chirping birds around it - May be I thought this is how the earth is supposed to be. That was all routine for me I guess.

Things have changed a lot now. I am longing to see those things which (may be)  I ignored all those days. I am ready to drive down miles just to experience the soothing mornings or evenings; to play with the mist; to hear the chirping of the birds; Sometimes it makes me feel there is a shift in movement and we are all (people like me) heading back to our past just to see and experience what we have missed.

Contagious Smile

Today... Bring out that small child in you; bring out that cute glitter in your eyes; and stretch your lips and turn up the corners of the mouth just to exercise something called as a "smile".

And yes, wishing all the readers of "Slice of Life" a very Happy Makara Sanktranthi!


Equipment used:
    

Photo of the day "Last lap"

LAST LAP
(Shot taken with Sony Ericsson W580i)

Imagine a situation where someone shows "LAST LAP" sign board to your life. What are the things you wish to do or accomplish in that last loop of your drive? Are you going to end it by cribbing throughout the loop that that it is the end of your life? Or you are going to give it a magical ending by doing things you always wished to but never done it before? Or you want to rip past as many people as possible to lead the race (life)? What is it that you would like to do?  I want to know.

I just wish there was a last lap board for life too..

Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6" Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology

Photo of the day

An adventurous person enjoys the sunset through paragliding

On a beautiful evening watching the sun go down the horizon from Chapora Fort (Panaji, Goa) is a pure bliss. This place added so much of depth to that wonderful scene from Dil Chahata Hai which is still in our memories. This place is one of the most mesmerizing places I have ever visited.

Photo of the day - "The Burden of the Past?"

The Burden of the Past?

Wrinkles on the face; faded enthusiasm; the ropes tied to his shoulders which carried a huge weight; shoulders seemed to have given up yet the legs seemed to be pushing forward; the time is slipping as he approaches the end of life; neither a smile on the face nor agony is shown; feels like that man was just indifferent to what he was up to. It appears, more than the weight on the shoulders he carried the burden of the past. 

Photo of the day - "A rich smile"



What makes you richer?

Hanging on to the divider of a road, tired of running around for the whole day, yet passing that contagious smile to the people who give her a stare, there stood a little girl watching her dad sell as many balloons as possible for that day. Little does she know about wealth, little does she know about the life, yet that smile had so much of inspiration for the grown ups. I just feel when she smiles and looks at people it appears as if she is asking them a question "what makes you feel richer?"

Just when I thought...

Just when I thought I would be more expressive this year and start blogging regularly, a mail from a friend of mine, threatened me with the following content in it. It is a snip from the Horoscope for 2011 that is forwarded to me. 

"Beware, as Ganesha warns you against expressing yourself freely on social media. Take good care of yourself towards the end of the year. Saturn in your 8th House may mean some problems. Take care! All in all, a wonderful and adventurous year ahead of you you, yet do remember that too much risk is injurious to health."


This horoscope is a crazy stuff when you receive it in your inbox. You don't want to read it also, and without reading you can't delete it also.  All in all, it seems to be an adventurous year ahead for me. I have never stepped back facing adventures in life so far. What's the fun if it is not adventurous. Living a smooth life is more like doing a wild water rafting in still water! So I am up and prepared for it. One good thing I hear is that the year would be very exciting as far as travel is concerned. I hope I reach out to many places in the coming year too, and come up with wonderful set of photographs. More importantly with a wonderful moments to be cherished for lifetime.


Hope it all goes well with everyone around!

Road to Destiny: Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - Collection

Road to Destiny: Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary - Collection: "If anyone asks me how many times have I visited Ranganathittu bird sanctuary, I really won't be able to answer because it is innumerable. My..."

Goa - Sep 18/19 2010, A memorable visit

Yes, my recent trip to Goa has left some wonderful moments in me which will remain etched in memories forever. Read on..

Saturday 18th Sep

As I woke up early in the morning, I gazed out of the window to see the rain drops dripping down the window pane and all I could see outside was a shade of lush green along the road and the dark clouds in the sky. I realized that the bus has already entered rainy Goa. Eye lids still felt heavy. As soon as the bus entered Panaji bus stand and as all the people were getting down, I still required a louder tone "Last stop!!!!" to wake me up from my sleep and get down with my luggage. Finally with a hope that I get to doze off once again while traveling to Mapusa from Panaji, I collected my luggage and changed my bus to go to Mapusa.

However, the break between changing the buses kept me awake. I got down at Mapusa and waited for my friend at the bus stop. The place has never changed ever since I visited it 6-7 years ago. Same old bus stand and the same old buildings around with not much of difference. If you visit Bangalore with the same years of gap, probably you wouldn't recognize your own place. The bus stop covered with lot of rain water; constant drizzling; school kids with rain coats and umbrellas; early morning vegetable buyers; and the people rushing to Panaji standing in a queue to buy tickets; on one side the smell of fresh cookies and cakes from distant bakeries; walk a few steps on the other side, a smell of raw fishes; That is a typical morning scene in Goa during rains. As I turned left while I was strolling I could see a person coming towards me with an umbrella in one hand, and a hand bag in another and a wide smile on his face; who else can it be? Lawrence!

He has alway carried that smile but that day it was a bit too special as it was a very special day. A day for which he longed for almost two years; a day he wished and prayed for; a moment which would make him take the first step towards spending a lifetime with the one made for him, Beverly!. Yes, it was the day when my best friend was getting engaged. I had never seen Lawrence so much occupied and at the same time being so much happy; he was occupied with taking that day forward till the evening; "what to buy", "what to take home"; "did I miss something?"; call up mom and dad ask them if he needs to get anything else. And there were few last minute items like hair cut too! Undoubtedly for most of his last minute preparations it is my company which is the culprit. We did some shopping for flowers, cakes and buns in the narrow shopping streets of Mapusa around the bus stand; I guess the rain was never going to stop for that day as I saw the water dripping down from the roof sheets.

It was almost mid noon by the time we reached home after driving through beautiful route from Maupsa to Nadora village where Lawrence's house is situated. This was the second time I was heading to his house and that place still looked so familiar as if I had visited it plenty of times. I love the route from Pune-Mumbai express way to Nadora; the prominent color you see is Green. The tar road looks more like a thick pencil  line etched into a painting with lush green fields and lakes; Line of coconut trees along the river form a perfect frame for a photographic mind; plenty of Egrets behind the grazing animals is fun to watch; mosques, a few temples and a beautiful church along the way make the place religiously versatile. 

As the day progressed Lawrence kept preparing himself for one of the most important events of his life. At least the first part of it. Later part is marriage of course ;-). I too got ready meanwhile. As usual, Lawrence was imposing his timings (when to leave from his house or what time to reach her house) on the family members as we all sat and had lunch. "We will leave at 4.15 from here", Larry said. His brother and dad pulled his leg saying "Why should we leave so early; why are you in such a hurry??!!". As usual Lawrence blushed and remained silent. It was a great moment for everyone of them at home and all of them were busy getting ready. To see the excitement of the parents to choose their dressing is such a fun; which one to wear, which color etc.. Here too Lawrence insisted his parents to wear his choice of dresses. Looks like he wanted everything to be matching and perfect.

It was around 4.30 when we started from Nadora towards Mapusa, where Beverly's house is located. It was still raining. People back there at Beverly's place waited for Lawrence and family's arrival. Meanwhile, Lawrence had one more thing to do (which was planned last moment); a bouquet for the love of his life. The flower seller turned out to be a villain of the day for Lawrence as she made him wait for a longer time; eventually making him delay by approximately 20 minutes for his own engagement! Can you believe it?? 

The man of time; the one who has always beaten the clock; the time machine; Lawrence was late by 20 mins!! 

All received a very warm welcome at Beverly's house by her parents and sister. Lot of relatives were around. The house was full of joy and smiles all around. The priest had arrived and was waiting to grace the occasion. As soon as Lawrence entered their house there was no more waiting and the ceremony started. The prayers were said; priest blessed Lawrence and Beverly; Lawrence-Beverly exchanged rings; after getting confirmation again as to which hand, right or left ;-). All the relatives congratulated each other and  Lawrence and Beverly. Lawrence and Beverly had to cooperate with the photographer Bosco to give him a chance to prepare a great engagement album. I also helped Bosco a bit as a "light boy" holding one flash unit for him. I too clicked few pictures which I am posting in this post. 

Everybody said cheers with a glass of champaign including me. This poor vegetarian had to trouble the hosts since they had to order few special veggie stuff especially for me. It was a very warm gesture by the family which I will always remember. The evening progressed into chit-chats of how Lawrence used to be in his school or college days. His stories of walking faster, beating the clock and being very obedient etc. His sis-in-law was giving details as she was his classmate. I was totally ROFL when I heard that few classmates sometimes used to walk to college (from bus stop) with Lawrence just to reach early! 

Lawrence's parents on the left and Beverly's parents on right of the frame

Finally before everyone would enter into a new day, it was time to head back to Nadora. The Braganca family said adios for that day to the Mesquita family and me. It was close to midnight when we reached back home. 

Lawrence's smile never stopped even till the end of day, when he opened up the gift given by Beverly and a watch presented by his in-laws.  I am sure he just had a wonderful day of his life till date

Sunday 19th Sep:

I didn't want to become a "kabab-mein-haddi" on the next day while Lawrence and Beverly were meeting. I still had to be one but only for a small amount of time, till we reached Miramar beach. I took my way to the empty beach leaving the couple in a park. Since it was not a tourist season yet, there were no tourists on the beach. In fact there were only fisher men extracting the fishes from the net. I spent some time taking a long walk along the beach, enjoying the solitude, collecting various types of sea shells along the way. I found an isolated boat and had some self portraits clicked. I always have difficultly spending time alone but that day the time just flew. 

Lawrence-Beverly.. Made for each other :-)

Miramar beach and solitude

After a peaceful lunch at a beach side restaurant, we headed back to Larry's place; to pack up and get ready to travel back to Bengaluru. The time seemed to be running faster. Uncle and Aunty along with Beverly accompanied us till the bus stand. It was really a pleasant time that I had in Goa during this trip; felt like extending it for few more days. Nevertheless, with a hope to visit Goa again as soon as possible, cheered myself up. I am sure there are going to be a lot more visits to Goa. Obviously because I feel a part of their family! 

I wish Lawrence and Beverly a wonderful life and thanks to both of them for making me a part of this memorable event.

Bangalore Photo Walk - Russel Market

It has always been such a great experience to go for a photo shoot with BPW members. Exploring markets and busy places in Bangalore and following the action through a camera is always a fun. Russel Market in Shivajinagar is one such place where you get to see non stop action throughout the day. By action I mean, the crowd with lot of buyers and sellers, the narrow shopping streets, lot of rickshaw-walas etc. Most of the time it is chaos. But that's the place where your camera get's a lot of exercise.

6 of us from BPW met today and had a photoshoot which went on from 6.30 AM in the morning to around 9 AM. 

It was again a great learning as the street photography is one thing which I feel so uncomfortable with. However it will improve day by day as these photo walks go on. Here are few of the pictures.

Early morning Bargaining at Russel Market 

They always look beautiful in color than the monochromes

Window shopping?

A baba waiting for the customers

Bored? Depressed? Waiting?

Clock keeps ticking as the early morning action goes on in the market

A Chailwala waits patiently for the market to become busy so that he can get more customers

Sellers, buyers and autowalas outside the Russel Market

Fate? A man sleeping on the floor of a Russel market ; A dog too finds the place warm and dozes off

Another view

Setu walking in to pose for my camera

Lot of talking and finger pointing early in the morning

A vegetable shop at Russel Market

He doesn't get to read the news paper after sometime :-)

Red tomatoes look even more saturated under the lamps

Deceptive.. Doesn't really make sense; it is a mirror in the center and the reflection of the roof

A cat posing for a fellow BPW mate Setu's camera

This idea is copyrighted with Setu. Honestly I just tried to copy his few of the lovely shots of panning from top view. Thanks Setu!